


Won't You Be Mine?

by badcaseofcasey



Series: A Very Check, Please! Valentine's Day [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Defining the Relationship, Love Confessions, M/M, Talking about your feelings, Valentine's Day, communication is key
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:06:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9857087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badcaseofcasey/pseuds/badcaseofcasey
Summary: "Dex hadn’t planned on coming out. Eventually, he guesses he would have, especially to the team, but it hadn’t been something he was planning anytime soon. It was just- Nurse made him so angry sometimes."___A companion piece to my Zimbits Valentine's fic, featuring Nursey and Dex actually talking about their feelings. You technically don't have to read the other fic first, but this will make a whole helluva lot more sense if you do.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the Nursey/Dex companion piece to my earlier Valentine's fic! Thanks so much for all the love and support so far - I hope you enjoy this one as well! Rated M because Dex gets to touch the butt.
> 
> Disclaimer: all of these characters, as well as the amazing creation that is Check, Please!, belong to ngozi and I'm so lucky to be able to borrow them for a while.

Dex hadn’t planned on coming out. Eventually, he guesses he would have, especially to the team, but it hadn’t been something he was planning anytime soon. It was just- Nurse made him so angry sometimes. Yeah, he was one of his good friends and they were definitely much closer than they had been when they first met. Their arguments were more friendly debates than anything else, these days. Granted, their friendly debates got a lot more heated than most people he knew, but it worked for them.

He was just tired of Derek taking jabs at him for being homophobic when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, he definitely had internalized some of the stuff that he had heard growing up in a small town, but the real reason he always seemed uncomfortable when Nurse or someone else started talking about anything to do with sexuality was because of his own issues.

He’d always had some idea that he wasn’t exactly straight, but when he got to Samwell, he really started to figure some stuff out. Not only was the campus amazingly welcoming to the LGBT community, it was also full of ridiculously attractive people. It would have been hard to show up at Samwell and _not_ realize he was gay, because everywhere he went it seemed, there was another attractive guy. And it was just his luck that he was on a team of ridiculously attractive men ~~one in particular, but no one needs to know that~~.

So it hadn’t been his plan to come out in the middle of the Haus kitchen because Derek Nurse provoked him, but sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Everyone had responded well, most of them ridiculously enthusiastic, hugging and cheering and letting him know he was loved. Shitty was in tears for some strange reason, and kept crowing about his little babies growing up. Dex could feel the blush rising in his cheeks at the attention, but he reminded himself how lucky he was to have found such a supportive group of friends and smiled.

Dex couldn’t help but notice that Nursey wasn’t joining in, still sitting in his seat across the table from Dex and looking for all the world like Dex had just slapped him in the face.

Oh, well, Dex thought. Who needs Derek Nurse when he had the rest of the team hugging him within an inch of his life? He ignored the voice in the back of his mind that said, very clearly, _you do_.

___

The next few days leading up to Valentine’s Day passed uneventfully; well, as uneventfully as they could as the rest of SMH got their roses in their respective classes. Dex went to class and pretended not to be agonizing over the perfect birthday gift for Nursey. He pretended not to imagine Nursey’s surprised smile when he gave him whatever he ended up giving him (the smile he wished Nursey had had on his face after Dex came out).The rest of the Haus was preoccupied with either chirping Jack to hell and back about the roses or trying to figure out why exactly he’d sent them.

Dex mostly couldn’t care less as he stood in front of a display of snapbacks in the bookstore. The whole “what do you get for someone who has everything” felt cliche and ridiculous, and in this case it was more “what do you get for the person who can buy themselves anything,” anyway.

He was considering a snapback with the Samwell logo on it, because from what Dex could tell, Nursey didn’t have much Samwell gear beyond his hockey stuff; maybe going to the bookstore was too mainstream for Nursey. But he also seemed to take more pride in Samwell and the hockey team than anything else in his life, and Dex could relate; Samwell was important to him too. It was the first safe space he had ever been a part of, and he can imagine that Nursey felt similarly about finally going somewhere without the shadow of his parents or his social status hanging over his head.

Even as Dex left the bookstore, having spent far too much on a hat for someone who was just a teammate, he wasn’t sure about the gift. Nursey was special to him; sure, they’d started out kind of rough, but he wanted him to feel important and appreciated on his birthday, even if he did have to share it. For some reason, a hat from the bookstore felt like not enough and too much at the same time.

He turned the corner to head to his dorm and ran into Chowder and Farmer, holding hands like the disgustingly adorable couple they are. “Dex!”

“Hey, C,” Dex said, accepting Chowder’s one-armed hug.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Chowder said, smiling wide. “Have you seen Nursey yet? I want to tell him happy birthday and he wasn’t at the Haus earlier.”  
“Nah, I haven’t seen him yet today, C,” Dex said, finding it hard not to smile at Chowder’s enthusiasm. You’d think he would’ve gotten used to it in the past 7 months, but Chowder’s eternally positive disposition was still amazing to him.

“Do you know if we’re supposed to get him gifts?” he asked. “I mean, I got him something but it’s nothing big or anything, and he got me something for my birthday, even though it was way back in October and we barely knew each other.”

“To be fair, it doesn’t take long to figure out that you’re a Sharks fan,” Dex chirped and he had to stop the smile at seeing Farmer roll her eyes. “But yeah, I got him something. Nothing big.”

“Okay cool. Maybe we’ll go check his dorm and see if he wants to come with me to the dining hall - they have a truffle station set up for Valentine’s Day! Do you want to join us?”

“No, I think I’m good,” Dex said. “How do you even know these things?”

“It’s all on the website,” Farmer said, matter-of-factly. “Plus, my roommate’s work study is with dining services, so she lets me know.”

Dex chuckled lightly. “All right, have fun! And if they ever get around to serving real steak, let me know. I’m on my way to the Haus, so I’ll see you later for cake and the party.”

“Okay! See you there later!”

Dex nodded and set off back towards the Haus. He liked Chowder a lot, and Farmer and him were great together, but Dex wasn’t exactly up to spending time around the couple on Valentine’s Day. Plus, Chowder was great company, but he had a feeling that he needed someone who has some experience with what he’s going through for the advice he was looking for.

___

“I come bearing tarts,” Dex said as he pushed Nursey’s dorm room open from where it had been cracked. His talk with Bitty had helped clear up a lot of things, but he was definitely still nervous. Nurse looked up from his desk where he had been reading and cracked an easy smile at Dex, or maybe it was directed at the tarts.

“Then you are more than welcome, Knave of Hearts,” Nursey said, taking a bite out of the one Dex offered and letting out a low moan that definitely did not send a shiver down Dex’s spine.

“What?” he asked, trying to focus on what Nurse had just said.

“You know, the Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts?” Nurse said, licking raspberry syrup off his thumb as he set the rest of the tart down. “Like that old nursery rhyme.”

“Sure,” Dex said, not wanting to admit that it did sound a little familiar. “Are you seriously doing work on a Saturday? On your birthday?”

“Don’t forget Valentine’s Day,” he said, winking. “And I’m actually reading for fun, for once. I like rereading this collection of love poems I got from my parents. It’s kind of like a tradition.”

“Anything good?” Dex asked, sitting on Nursey’s bed and taking a bite out of his own tart.

“Well, there’s some of Shakespeare’s sonnets in here, and some newer stuff. The translations of Neruda are good, too.”

“Aren’t most of Shakespeare’s sonnets dick jokes? And written to dudes?” Dex asked, recalling something he’d heard in a high school English class.

“So they’re perfect for you, Poindexter,” Nursey said, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t believe that’s like, the one thing you know about poetry.”

“Sorry I’m not cultured enough for you, Nurse,” Dex said, but there was no heat behind it. It was hard to get upset when you had one of Bitty's baked goods in your hands. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Thanks, man,” Nurse said, playing it off in a way that Dex knew by now that he appreciated it more than he would say.

“I um, I got you something,” Dex said, grabbing the bookstore bag from where he had set it down earlier. “It’s not much, and I didn’t wrap it, but-”

Dex broke off when he saw Nursey’s eyes widen and his brow furrow.

“Dex,” he said, looking up with wide, open eyes. “This is perfect.”

“Yeah?” Dex said, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he felt awkward.

Nurse smiled widely and put the hat on backwards, clearly enthused. “You didn’t even have to get me anything. How did you even notice I needed one of these?”

“I know you like to wear a hat sometimes,” Dex said, eyeing them where they were lined up on top of Nursey’s dresser as if they were a decoration. “But I’ve never seen you in one that’s in Samwell colors.”

“Thanks, Dex,” Nursey said. “It means a lot, really.”

Dex could feel the blush rising on his cheeks, and hoped that for once, Nurse wouldn’t chirp him about it. “My sister’s birthday is Christmas Eve, I know how much it can suck to have your birthday overshadowed by a holiday.”

“Still,” Nurse said, his eyes soft and completely fixed on Dex, as if he was the most interesting thing in the world.

They both were quiet for a moment, Dex trying to come up with how best to bring up what he came here to say. On his way over, he had felt very sure of what he wanted to do and that he was ready to talk to Nurse about it. Now, when it came to actually doing it, he couldn’t find the right words.

“Got any plans for your birthday?” Dex asked, hedging a little. “Did you get yourself a Valentine?”

Nurse shook his head. “Nah, just cake at the Haus and then the party. I figure it’ll be a fun time.”

“Yeah,” Dex said. “I never really liked Valentine’s much, but it’ll be fun to celebrate with you and the guys. And of course you get a Haus party for your birthday; anything else just wouldn’t be enough.”

Nurse laughed. “Yeah, I tried to convince Bitty that Nursey Patrol could take a night off, but he insists that he wants me to be safe on my birthday.”

Dex rolled his eyes. “He's only trying to make sure you don’t end up doing naked chin-ups off the LAX house balcony. Again.”

“Hey, I maintain their eaves are the optimal height for chin-ups,” Nurse said, spinning in his desk chair lazily.

“But why were you naked, Nurse?” Dex groaned, repeating the question for what felt like the 30th time they’d had this discussion.

“Don’t lie, you liked it,” Nurse said, and Dex was upset to see the glint in his eye that normally came when he teased Dex about anything to do with being gay.

“I thought you were going to stop trying to rile me up about the gay thing,” Dex said, frustrated. “Dick move, Nurse.”

Nurse’s smile faded, but the glint in his eyes remained. “What if it was never about messing with you?”

“What do you mean?” Dex said, confused. Nurse had always tried to get a rise out of him because he’d assumed he was homophobic. He assumed that Nurse finding out that he was gay would change that part of their relationship, that it might change their _entire_ relationship, but maybe that was too much to expect. Just because Nurse knew he liked guys now, doesn’t mean that he would want anything to change between them.

“I mean, I was never trying to make fun of you for being uncomfortable around gay guys,” Nurse said, spinning back and forth lazily in his desk chair. “At least, not at first. At first, I was actually - well, I was trying to flirt with you. But then you got so nervous and stand-offish I assumed it was because you weren’t okay with it. But now I guess - Dex? Dex, what’s up?”  
As Nursey spoke, Dex had stood from where he was sitting on Nursey’s bed and crossed the (very small) distance between the bed and the desk. He grabbed Nurse’s arm to stop him spinning and leaned down to look him in the eyes.

“You were flirting with me?” Dex asked, his voice flat and serious.

“Well, yeah, Dex, you’re hot what am I supposed-” Nurse broke off with a whimper as he felt Dex’s lips press against his.

Dex wasn’t sure what he’d expected kissing Nurse to be like. They fought passionately and argued fiercely when it came to debating op-eds, and they worked so in sync on the ice. The kiss was all of those things and more and Dex felt it all the way down to his toes. Nurse tasted like the raspberry tart he had just eaten and Dex caught himself smiling into the kiss.

Nurse hooked his hand around the back of Dex’s neck to keep him close and pulled back so he could look him in the eye. “Not that I’m not really enjoying this, but what are you doing?”

“Kissing you,” Dex teased. “I thought that would be obvious. I must be doing it wrong; let me try again.”

Dex wrapped an arm around Nurse’s waist and pulled him out of his chair and onto the bed behind them. He started to get lost in the feeling of having Nurse’s body laid out on top of his, the weight comforting and new. Nurse’s sheets smelled like the cologne he sometimes wore, earthy and sweet, a smell that had developed an almost Pavlovian response in Dex lately. Dex realized that the kiss was turning into something more very quickly, his blood pulsing through his veins at every new sensation.

“Dex,” Nurse whimpered as Dex went to work peppering kisses down his neck. “Dex, hold on a second.”

Dex leaned his head back on the bed, his brow furrowing as Nursey rolled off of him to lay next to him. He turned to face him. “Did I do something wrong? Sorry, this is all kind of new and-”

“No, no, you were perfect,” he said, resting a reassuring hand on Dex’s shoulder. His expression was open and nervous. “I just want to make sure I’m not reading this wrong. If we do this, I want it to be more than just you exploring new territory. I’m going to want it to mean something.”

Dex’s eyes widened, kicking himself for giving Nurse that impression. “It’s going to mean something. It’s always going to mean something, with you.”

Nurse bit his lip against the smile that broke at Dex’s words. “Okay,” he said happily and rolled over so that he was back on top of Dex, kissing him again. Dex was soon realizing that kissing Nursey would never get boring.

Dex let out a gasp as Nurse kissed and sucked at his neck, right over where his pulse was beating out a tattoo. Dex tentatively tucked his fingers underneath Nurse’s waistband, hands wanting to explore even further. At Nurse’s moan, he pushed them deeper and rested his palms against Nurse’s ass, squeezing lightly and revelling in the feel of it through the thin cotton of his boxer briefs. Nurse rolled their hips together in answer, pushing the air out of Dex’s lungs. “Fuck, Nurse,” he breathed.

“I think you can probably call me Derek now,” Nurse laughed, his breath hot against Dex’s throat. “You know, since you have your hands down my pants and all.”

Dex rolled his eyes, ready to respond with a chirp of his own when Nurse bit down suddenly. “ _Derek,”_ he moaned, the name coming rumbling out from deep in his chest.

Nurse paused his ministrations, resting his forehead against Dex’s collar bone. “God, that’s hot. Say my name again.”

“You gotta earn that, Nurse,” Dex said, smirking down at the mess of curls resting on his chest.

“Is that a challenge, Poindexter?” Nurse asked, looking up to meet the Dex's, his eyes shining with mirth and lust and a fondness that Dex realized he had been missing all along.

Dex caught sight of the desk clock over Nurse's shoulder and swore. “Yes, it is, but it’s going to have to wait. We have a Haus full of hungry hockey players who might riot if we show up late. You’re the guest of honor, after all.”

“I have never wanted to go eat cake less,” Nurse groaned, rolling off of Dex. “But you’re right, we should go. We can hang out together at the kegster and maybe try and sneak out early; after a certain point, I doubt anyone will miss us.”

“Oh, and I’m supposed to go home with you, am I?” Dex teased. “What if I had other plans?”

“Too bad,” Dex said, pulling a sweater over his head before bending to give Dex a quick peck. “Because I’m the birthday boy, and I say that I get to take you back here and make you say my name a little more.”

“You’re insufferable,” Dex said, not even trying to hide his smile.

___

“Did you have to give me a hickey?” Dex asked, frowning and rubbing at his neck underneath his scarf. “I’m not you, I actually only wear scarfs when it's cold outside. I can’t just wear it into the Haus.”

Nurse chuckled and bumped his shoulder into Dex’s as they walked towards the Haus. “Just wanted to show everyone what’s mine.”

Dex rolled his eyes. “And here I was thinking that I’d be the possessive asshole in this relationship.”

“It’s 2015, baby,” Nurse said, a glint in his eye. “We can _both_ be the possessive asshole.”

They walked in companionable silence for a while, their breath fogging in front of them in the cool February air.

Dex broke the silence first, something suddenly occurring to him. “You know, our anniversary, your birthday and Valentine’s Day are all going to be the same; that means I only have to get you one gift.”

Nurse met Dex’s gaze, a smirk playing on his lips. “Anniversary, huh?”

“Derek,” he said warningly, then laughed at the way Nurse’s eyes glazed over. “God, I’m never going to be able to call you that in public, am I?”

“No, no,” Nurse said, nodding resolutely. “I think that’s all you get to call me from now on.”

“What kind of weird relationship do we have that calling each other by our first names is a pet name?”

“I don’t know, Will, what kind of relationship _do_ we have?” Nurse said, his teasing tone not reaching his eyes, which were wide and innocent and green. “I mean, I know we just kissed for the first time today, but you’re already starting to talk about anniversaries. I need to know what I’m getting into here.”

Dex could tell Nurse was trying to keep things light, but he could see how nervous and hopeful he was underneath the carefully constructed facade of _chill_.

“Well, I’m pretty new at this, so I’d like to take it kind of slow,” he said, blushing. “But I already told you I’m going to be a possessive bastard. I want us to at least be exclusive, if nothing else.”

“We can go as slow as you’d like,” Nurse said, his voice low and soothing. “And we don’t have to label it just yet, but I’d like to call you my boyfriend one day.”

Dex thought for a second, looking straight ahead instead of into Nurse’s disarmingly sincere gaze. “Boyfriends.” He tested the word out loud. “I can do boyfriends.”

Nurse’s answering smile was so bright that Dex swore he could feel it before he saw it. They continued to walk together, their hands brushing every so often before Dex gathered his courage and took hold of Nurse’s mittened hand. The warmth seeped through his glove and he smiled; a year ago he never thought he would be holding his boyfriend’s hand in public. He was glad he had been wrong.

  
“You know the team are going to be insufferable about this, right?” Nurse said, shaking his head. “Do we have to tell them right away?”

Dex squeezed Nursey’s hand and smiled over at his _boyfriend_. “Let’s see how long it takes them to figure it out.”


End file.
